The 12 Days Of Cookies: Sherry Yard's Holiday Dog Biscuit Recipe

When we kicked off the Twelve Days of Cookie Recipes with Alice Medrich's recipe for peanut butter clouds (peanut butter meringue cookies flecked with hazelnuts and milk chocolate), we were admittedly thinking more along the lines of human cookie consumption. But as Spago Executive Pastry Chef Sherry Yard reminded us, no one should be left out during the holidays. So the second cookie in our holiday lineup is for the dog biscuits that she hands out to canine friends during the holiday. "I make them for Christmas for the Spago doggie family," says Yard, "tie them with ribbons and give them as gifts."

And yes, Yard's dog, Chunk, gets his fill of these whole wheat-peanut butter cookies, too. What kind of dog might a pastry chef have, you ask? A chocolate lab. Of course she does. Turn the page for her holiday dog biscuit recipe.

Dogs Prefer Homemade, Too

Flickr user studio583art

Bachelor Dog Treats

From: Sherry Yard.

Note: Yard suggests small cookie cutters such as this 3-inch dog bone, but you can use larger cutters and bake the cookies a few minutes longer. She also notes that her dog has a highly trained palette and prefers Wildflower honey (She's joking, of course; there is all of 1 tablespoon of honey in these cookies.).

Yield: About 3 dozen small cookies

4 eggs, divided (2 for the dough, 2 for the wash)

1 ounce vegetable oil

1 tablespoon honey

8 ounces chicken stock

10 ounces whole wheat flour

5 ounces all purpose flour

3 ounces cornmeal

1 cup peanut butter

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together two of the eggs, the oil and honey. Whisk in the chicken stock.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the whole wheat flour, AP flour and cornmeal. With the mixer on medium speed, slowly pour in the chicken stock mixture, then add the peanut butter. Mix until the dough comes together, about 1 minute.

3. Divide the dough in half. Roll out each ball of dough approximately ½ inch thick. Cut into desired shapes using small (3 to 4-inch) cookie cutters. Place on baking sheets sprayed with cooking oil.

4. Whisk the remaining two eggs and brush the egg wash lightly over the cookies. Allow to dry for 10 minutes and brush with the egg wash a second time (the second wash is optional, but gives the cookies a darker brown color). Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes, depending on the size of the cookies.